of Arm Fractures from Falls, Study Shows
School playgrounds fitted with granite sand surfacing significantly reduce the risk of children fracturing arms in comparison with wood fibre surfaces, according to a randomized trial published this week in the open-access journal PLoS Medicine.
Even in well maintained playgrounds there is always a risk of injury -- in the United States alone, 200,000 children are treated for playground injuries a year. Andrew Howard (of the Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada) and colleagues examined the rate of arm fracture as a result of falls on to two types of playground surface -- granite sand and engineered wood fibre. Despite standards for the type and depth of surfaces used in school playgrounds, there is little information about the ability of different surfaces to prevent injuries. The researchers took advantage of planned playground replacement by the Toronto School District Board in a number of schools to perform a randomised controlled trial of the two surfaces in preventing injuries.
Over two and a half years, the researchers found that of the 19 schools that complied with the surface they were randomly assigned to, falls from height onto wood fibre surface resulted in more arm fractures than falls from height onto granite sand. The risk of an arm fracture was 4.9 times higher on a wood fibre surface compared to a granite sand playground. The rate of arm fracture and other injuries that were not as a result of falling from height did not vary between the surfaces.
These findings are limited by the small number of fractures that occurred in either group during the trial. Nonetheless, the researchers conclude that updating playground safety standards to recommend granite sand "will reduce the most common and severe injuries seen on modern playgrounds, without limiting children's access to healthy outdoor play."
1 comment:
This is probably the best blog or news story I've read about this particular study. Most people talking about this report fail to mention that granite (aka granitic) sand was the only type of sand involved in the study. Also, other reports about this topic mistakenly refer to the engineered wood fibre as 'wood chips.' The problem with the aforementioned facts is that there are many people who now believe that 'sand is safer than wood chips' which was not the conclusion that the study made.
Another comment on the study is that it considered a seven inch depth of wood fibre to be adequate; whereas most manufacturers recommend a minimum of 12 inches. It begs the question, "Would the results have been more favourable for wood fibre had the surfaces been covered with a minimum of 12 inches, and not 7 inches?"
My final thought on this topic (and maybe the most important) is the fact that all North American playground safety standards regarding protective surfacing requirements relate to head trauma, and not broken limbs. Although broken limbs are not desirable, it is more important to protect children from life threatening brain injuries, and death. It's unfortunate that the study did not incorporate surface attenuation tests into its findings (the surfaces ability to adequately cushion a fall). For instance, is it possible that granitic sand will reduce the probability of fractures, but result in more frequent or severe brain injury??? Food for thought.
You may be interested in my blog post: http://alertpropertyinspections.blogspot.com/2010/01/how-deep-does-loose-fill-protective.html
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